Fairfax 2022

[Viking]

15 hours ago, petec said:

 

This month to date 20+ year treasuries (TLT) are down 5.3% and 1-3y treasuries (SHY) are down 1.4%. (Data from Koyfin.)

 

The loss differential in 14 days is nearly 10x the annual yield differential that was available at the start of the month. In other words there is absolutely no way people were being paid to take this duration risk.

 

Going long when the yield curve is flat is a macro bet. The only way it works is if yields fall. Staying short when the curve is flat is macro agnostic.

 

Do most P&C insurers not try to largely match the duration in their bond portfolio with their liabilities? And they hold the bonds to maturity… does that not mean there is essentially no duration risk? Is that not why most bonds do not get marked to market at quarter end and do not impact net earnings?
 

We have had very low rates for a decade (yes, long rates did get wicked low in 2020 and 2021). 

[Thrifty3000]

8 minutes ago, Viking said:

Do most P&C insurers not try to largely match the duration in their bond portfolio with their liabilities? And they hold the bonds to maturity… does that not mean there is essentially no duration risk? Is that not why most bonds do not get marked to market at quarter end and do not impact net earnings?
 

We have had very low rates for a decade (yes, long rates did get wicked low in 2020 and 2021). 

isnt there some risk of bonds being paid back at par while insurance claim costs increase with inflation?

[Viking]

On 3/25/2022 at 1:05 PM, Viking said:

 

The unprecedented spike in bonds yields the past couple of weeks has been breathtaking. Lots of insurers are going to be reporting pretty substantial mark to market losses on their bond investment portfolios. Fairfax’s bond portfolio was positioned almost perfectly Dec 31 (1.2 year avg duration). Q1 results are going to be super interesting:

1.) when does Fairfax start to add duration to its portfolio?

2.) how much of their fixed income portfolio will they re-deploy?

3.) how much does 1.) + 2.) above increase the interest & dividend income bucket?

4.) how much higher do interest rates go?

 

                 2020.    2021.     2022.                                        Change

               Dec 31.  Dec31.   Feb 28.    Mch 21.     Mch 25.    YTD

 

3 mo.       .09.         .06.        .35.         .47.            .52.          + .46

6 mo.       .09.         .19.         .69.         .88.           .98.          + .79

1 yr.          .10.         .39.        1.01.        1.25.         1.64.         + 1.25

2 yr.          .13.         .73.        1.44.       2.10.         2.27.         + 1.54

5 yr.          .36.       1.26.        1.71.        2.31.        2.54.         + 1.28

10 yr.        .93.       1.52.        1.83.       2.30.        2.47.          + .95

30 yr.      1.65.       1.90.        2.17.        2.52.        2.59.          + .69

Well this is starting to feel a little bit like Groundhog Day. Lets hope it has a happy ending for shareholders  (like Bill Murray’s character in the movie). Fairfax has certainly nailed the spike we are seeing in interest rates (at least so far).
 

The unprecedented spike (recent years anyways) in bonds yields keeps going! The past couple of weeks has been breathtaking (again). Lots of insurers are going to be reporting pretty substantial mark to market losses on their bond investment portfolios AGAIN in Q2. Now they hold most of the bonds to maturity… but there will be a sizable hit to book value even if the impact to reported net earnings is muted (they are all now reporting ‘adjusted book value’ in their earnings releases

Fairfax’s bond portfolio continues to be positioned almost perfectly (at least is was March 31) for the current interest rate environment. Q2 results are going to be super interesting to see what changes they make to the bond portfolio:  

1.) will Fairfax continue to add duration to its portfolio? (Avg duration increased from 1.2 years to 1.4 years in Q1)

2.) how much of their fixed income portfolio will they re-deploy? ($7.4 billion of cash was redeployed into gov bonds of 1 and 2 year durations in Q1)

3.) how much does 1.) + 2.) above increase the interest & dividend income bucket?

4.) how much higher do interest rates go?

 

                 2020.    2021.     2022.          

               Dec 31.  Dec31.   Mch 31   June 14

 

3 mo.       .09.         .06.         .52.        1.83

6 mo.       .09.         .19.        1.06.        2.43

1 yr.          .10.         .39.        1.63.        3.15

2 yr.          .13.         .73.        2.28        3.45

5 yr.          .36.       1.26.        2.42.       3.61

10 yr.        .93.       1.52.        2.32        3.49

30 yr.      1.65.       1.90.        2.44        3.45

Edited June 15, 2022 by Viking

[Viking]

20 minutes ago, glider3834 said:

I think that Fairfax could potentially add approx $1 bil annualised to interest & dividend income (pre-tax yield) over the next 12-24 mths 

 

Here is the math

 

The last time US 10y Treasury was in the 3.2-3.6% bracket over 2008-2010 period - FFH's pre-tax yield was 3.2-3.4% area

 

 

Compare this to 2021, US 10y avg yield was 1.45%  (FFH's pre-tax yield was 1.33% or $640 mil)

 

 

Fairfax's portfolio investments = $50 bil (at 31 Mar-22)

 

US 10y Treasury is currently 3.4%, so if we assume 3% to 3.4% pre-tax yield multiple = $1.5 to $1.7 bil 

 

So that would be an approx $ 1bil increase in annualised interest & dividend income

 

It won't happen overnight, they need to reinvest maturities & we are assuming the rate environment holds at these higher levels & the close relationship between US treasury yield (using 10y as a proxy) and FFH's pre-tax yield continues to hold - so I would estimate we need 12-24 mths for this play out along with these assumptions.

 

What does everyone else think?

 

source for US 10y Treasury avg yields 

https://www.macrotrends.net/2016/10-year-treasury-bond-rate-yield-chart

@glider3834   I was doing the same mental gymnastics as you today… The simple answer is, yes, interest and dividend income WILL be spiking in the coming months AND years. And likely by a lot. We will have to wait a few more quarters to see exactly what Fairfax does. 

 

It gets even more interesting if we see corporate spreads start to blow out in the coming months (corporates have been increasing but i think they have largely been tracking the rate increase in government bonds). I am not sure what municipal bonds are doing. 

[glider3834]

1 hour ago, Viking said:

@glider3834   I was doing the same mental gymnastics as you today… The simple answer is, yes, interest and dividend income WILL be spiking in the coming months AND years. And likely by a lot. We will have to wait a few more quarters to see exactly what Fairfax does. 

 

It gets even more interesting if we see corporate spreads start to blow out in the coming months (corporates have been increasing but i think they have largely been tracking the rate increase in government bonds). I am not sure what municipal bonds are doing. 

@Viking yes agree - credit risk already starting to spike - should create more investment opportunities in corporates down the track

 

https://chicagotoday.news/world-nation/us-credit-risk-spikes-to-may-2020-high/

 

Here is a sobering quote from this article

 

Monetary policy tightening has been largely responsible for a nearly 14% total return loss for the Bloomberg US Investment Grade Index this year.

 

14% total return loss in US investment grade - unbelievable! 

 

Edited June 15, 2022 by glider3834

[glider3834]

2 hours ago, Viking said:

Well this is starting to feel a little bit like Groundhog Day. Lets hope it has a happy ending for shareholders  (like Bill Murray’s character in the movie). Fairfax has certainly nailed the spike we are seeing in interest rates (at least so far).
 

The unprecedented spike (recent years anyways) in bonds yields keeps going! The past couple of weeks has been breathtaking (again). Lots of insurers are going to be reporting pretty substantial mark to market losses on their bond investment portfolios AGAIN in Q2. Now they hold most of the bonds to maturity… but there will be a sizable hit to book value even if the impact to reported net earnings is muted (they are all now reporting ‘adjusted book value’ in their earnings releases

Fairfax’s bond portfolio continues to be positioned almost perfectly (at least is was March 31) for the current interest rate environment. Q2 results are going to be super interesting to see what changes they make to the bond portfolio:  

1.) will Fairfax continue to add duration to its portfolio? (Avg duration increased from 1.2 years to 1.4 years in Q1)

2.) how much of their fixed income portfolio will they re-deploy? ($7.4 billion of cash was redeployed into gov bonds of 1 and 2 year durations in Q1)

3.) how much does 1.) + 2.) above increase the interest & dividend income bucket?

4.) how much higher do interest rates go?

 

                 2020.    2021.     2022.          

               Dec 31.  Dec31.   Mch 31   June 14

 

3 mo.       .09.         .06.         .52.        1.83

6 mo.       .09.         .19.        1.06.        2.43

1 yr.          .10.         .39.        1.63.        3.15

2 yr.          .13.         .73.        2.28        3.45

5 yr.          .36.       1.26.        2.42.       3.61

10 yr.        .93.       1.52.        2.32        3.49

30 yr.      1.65.       1.90.        2.44        3.45

Yes how high will interest rates go is the big question - at what point do rates start to cause problems in economy 

 

2 hours ago, glider3834 said:

I think that Fairfax could potentially add approx $1 bil annualised to interest & dividend income (pre-tax yield) over the next 12-24 mths 

 

Here is the math

 

The last time US 10y Treasury was in the 3.2-3.6% bracket over 2008-2010 period - FFH's pre-tax yield was 3.2-3.4% area

 

 

Compare this to 2021, US 10y avg yield was 1.45%  (FFH's pre-tax yield was 1.33% or $640 mil)

 

 

Fairfax's portfolio investments = $50 bil (at 31 Mar-22)

 

US 10y Treasury is currently 3.4%, so if we assume 3% to 3.4% pre-tax yield multiple = $1.5 to $1.7 bil 

 

So that would be an approx $ 1bil increase in annualised interest & dividend income

 

It won't happen overnight, they need to reinvest maturities & we are assuming the rate environment holds at these higher levels & the close relationship between US treasury yield (using 10y as a proxy) and FFH's pre-tax yield continues to hold - so I would estimate we need 12-24 mths for this play out along with these assumptions.

 

What does everyone else think?

 

source for US 10y Treasury avg yields 

https://www.macrotrends.net/2016/10-year-treasury-bond-rate-yield-chart

 

 

 

 

the big assumption with the above we have treasury rates (10y) sitting in 3% area - but is that sustainable, will the Fed be forced to reverse course at some point & could it come back down in a recession  ???

Edited June 15, 2022 by glider3834

[TwoCitiesCapital]

9 hours ago, glider3834 said:

Yes how high will interest rates go is the big question - at what point do rates start to cause problems in economy 

 

the big assumption with the above we have treasury rates (10y) sitting in 3% area - but is that sustainable, will the Fed be forced to reverse course at some point & could it come back down in a recession  ???

 

The other big assumption is that Fairfax will buy 10-year treasuries. 

 

They didn't in 2018 at these levels. I doubt they do so today. They might move out to 2-3 year bonds which will provide similar 'umph' to their interest income, but it will be temporary if rates come back down like they did in 2018-2020 so hardly anything to get excited about or to count as real earnings power. 

 

The real hope is dislocation in credit markets. Mortgages are yielding 5-6% at this point. Might be a better area to take the duration risk in versus treasuries. Waiting for a spike in credit spreads could mean getting high single digits in high yield and mid single digits in IG - both of which help interest income with limited duration risk. 

Edited June 15, 2022 by TwoCitiesCapital

[glider3834]

31 minutes ago, TwoCitiesCapital said:

 

The other big assumption is that Fairfax will buy 10-year treasuries. 

 

They didn't in 2018 at these levels. I doubt they do so today. They might move out to 2-3 year bonds which will provide similar 'umph' to their interest income, but it will be temporary if rates come back down like they did in 2018-2020 so hardly anything to get excited about or to count as real earnings power. 

 

The real hope is dislocation in credit markets. Mortgages are yielding 5-6% at this point. Might be a better area to take the duration risk in versus treasuries. Waiting for a spike in credit spreads could mean getting high single digits in high yield and mid single digits in IG - both of which help interest income with limited duration risk. 

Twocities yes agree they have been investing at shorter end of the curve - i just picked the US10y to show how it has tended to sit close to ffh pre-tax yield over time 

Edited June 15, 2022 by glider3834

[A_Hamilton]

16 hours ago, Thrifty3000 said:

isnt there some risk of bonds being paid back at par while insurance claim costs increase with inflation?

The idea of matching the duration of your policy tail is that all else equal the yield on offer at a point in time should equal the risk premium inclusive of inflation expectations, so your risk isn't all that great. Problem is at very low rates and narrow spreads you better be using some form of modified duration because you are taking so much rates risk. 

 

It has been pretty incredible to watch Brian Bradstreet change his mind over time. 7 year duration post-GFC to Trump era and then down to basically nothing post Trump election. With 5 year treasury over 3.5%, I imagine you start seeing FFH move duration out another 6-12 months, perhaps buy some intermediate term high grade corporates. It is interesting, FFH mistakes on fixed side have been limited to the inflation floors being just too large of a bet and then the atrocious Greek Government Bond trade that they just never mention. On just pure rates trading, absolutely astoundingly good. If we could get just 1/2 as good on the equity side we'd be rolling.

[Pedro]

Seems like the odds of success at digits new reinsurance unit are in their favour. These are very favourable  rules of engagement that dont exist in most countries 

 

 

“As the sole domestic reinsurance company, GIC already gets first right of refusal to provide quotes, after which foreign branches are allowed to quote.

If Go Digit does establish a reinsurer, it would get the second priority where it would be given a chance to match the quotes given by GIC and sign onto a reinsurance placement at the same terms”

 

[glider3834]

18 hours ago, TwoCitiesCapital said:

The real hope is dislocation in credit markets. Mortgages are yielding 5-6% at this point. Might be a better area to take the duration risk in versus treasuries. Waiting for a spike in credit spreads could mean getting high single digits in high yield and mid single digits in IG - both of which help interest income with limited duration risk. 

Yes really good point  - US BBB Corporate effective yields have increased around 300bp from low 2% area in 2021 to low 5% area today- Fairfax in 2008 & 2009 had a 40-50% ish allocation to bonds & currently they are sitting around half of that level. QT has just started & there is potential for this to pressure credit spreads further.

 

Edited June 16, 2022 by glider3834

[glider3834]

guys I decided to delete my post re interest & dividend income (pre-tax yield) forecast to wait for more clarity on how Fairfax develop their fixed income portfolio positioning.

 

From a pre-tax yield perspective - twin drivers of higher treasury rates and higher credit spreads are both positive drivers going forward.

 

But to model what the new pre-tax yield will look like, we need to see in particular how their fixed income positioning develops - in particular end of 2021 they had roughly 50% cash & ST maturities and 20% bonds mix. So if we assume corp bonds, mortgages etc become more attractive & they move to a 25% cash & ST maturities & 45% bond mix for example, that could have a big positive impact on pre-tax yield.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[glider3834]

this is interesting - looks like Fairfax is selling its pet insurance business for $1.4 bil

 

WASHINGTON and TORONTO, June 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- JAB Holding Company (“JAB”) and Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (“Fairfax”) (TSX: FFH and FFH.U) today announced a transformational strategic partnership, in which JAB’s pet insurance business has agreed to acquire all of Fairfax’s interests in the Crum & Forster Pet Insurance Group™ (“C&F Pet”) and Pethealth Inc., including all of their worldwide operations. As part of the transaction, Fairfax will also make a $200 million1 investment in JCP V, JAB’s latest consumer fund.

As a result of the transaction, in which Fairfax will receive $1.4 billion in the form of $1.15 billion cash and $250 million in seller notes, JAB’s combined global pet insurance and ecosystem platform will be estimated to have gross written premiums and pet health services revenues of well over $1.2 billion by 2023, insuring more than 2.1 million pets. 

 

https://www.kulr8.com/news/money/jab-s-pet-insurance-business-to-acquire-global-pet-insurance-operations-of-fairfax-financial/article_1a5ce79b-9f63-598e-bc0a-16401efb451c.html

 

I can't get behind the Bloomberg paywall but here is another article

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-20/jab-is-said-to-buy-fairfax-stakes-in-pethealth-crum-forster

 

[steph]

Do you know at what price this was in the books? 

[StubbleJumper]

@glider3834 Thanks for flagging that transaction.  I hadn't browsed Bloomberg's site yet today, so that was new for me.

 

The pet health business was always one that I found a bit strange.  People are prepared to spend ridiculous sums of money to prolong Fluffy's life by a year or two, and pet owners who hold that attitude and are self-aware quite rightly pay large insurance premiums to help them manage the inevitable emotional decisions that they will face.  I am not a pet owner, so I have always thought that the whole pet industry is a bit irrational, but I've always been a bit intrigued about being able to profit from other people's irrational decisions!  In that context, I am a bit disappointed that FFH is exiting that part of the industry and only hope that Prem was able to negotiate an adequate price.

 

Turning to more practical matters, does anyone understand how this line of business was structured in FFH?  Some of it appears to be held within C&F and some within Pethealth.  So, of the US$1.15 billion of cash proceeds, which portion might end up at C&F and which portion would be either in the other subs or at the holdco level.  That preoccupation might be a little "inside baseball" in nature, but I confess that last week's decline in FFH's stock price has prompted me to thinking about whether more buybacks are on the horizon.  The large SIB buyback was conducted at US$500/sh, and on Friday we were back down to ~US$485 per share and dropping like a stone.  The notion of having, say $750m injected into the holdco at this point definitely opens up some possibilities.

 

Unfortunately, the total return swaps are now working against FFH.   They are great on the way up, but less good on the way down.  Since the end of Q1, the stock price is down ~US$60/sh, so FFH holdco will need to find ~$120m of cash for the counterparty.  Nonetheless, it would be really nice if there's another opportunity to buy, say, 1 million shares at US$400.....

 

 

SJ

[mjm]

noticed WTM is also selling their pet insurance. competition worse, high valuations?

[glider3834]

4 minutes ago, StubbleJumper said:

@glider3834 Thanks for flagging that transaction.  I hadn't browsed Bloomberg's site yet today, so that was new for me.

 

The pet health business was always one that I found a bit strange.  People are prepared to spend ridiculous sums of money to prolong Fluffy's life by a year or two, and pet owners who hold that attitude and are self-aware quite rightly pay large insurance premiums to help them manage the inevitable emotional decisions that they will face.  I am not a pet owner, so I have always thought that the whole pet industry is a bit irrational, but I've always been a bit intrigued about being able to profit from other people's irrational decisions!  In that context, I am a bit disappointed that FFH is exiting that part of the industry and only hope that Prem was able to negotiate an adequate price.

 

Turning to more practical matters, does anyone understand how this line of business was structured in FFH?  Some of it appears to be held within C&F and some within Pethealth.  So, of the US$1.15 billion of cash proceeds, which portion might end up at C&F and which portion would be either in the other subs or at the holdco level.  That preoccupation might be a little "inside baseball" in nature, but I confess that last week's decline in FFH's stock price has prompted me to thinking about whether more buybacks are on the horizon.  The large SIB buyback was conducted at US$500/sh, and on Friday we were back down to ~US$485 per share and dropping like a stone.  The notion of having, say $750m injected into the holdco at this point definitely opens up some possibilities.

 

Unfortunately, the total return swaps are now working against FFH.   They are great on the way up, but less good on the way down.  Since the end of Q1, the stock price is down ~US$60/sh, so FFH holdco will need to find ~$120m of cash for the counterparty.  Nonetheless, it would be really nice if there's another opportunity to buy, say, 1 million shares at US$400.....

 

 

SJ

no worries SJ

 

these business units sit inside C&F's Accident & Health (A&H) division. FFH owns 100% of C&F. The full details of transaction are not available yet but assuming proceeds went to C&F then I guess subject to meeting regs around divs & capital requirements, potentially they could dividend to holdco.

 

 

 

 

[StubbleJumper]

1 minute ago, glider3834 said:

no worries SJ

 

these business units sit inside C&F's Accident & Health (A&H) division. FFH owns 100% of C&F. The full details of transaction are not available yet but assuming proceeds went to C&F then I guess subject to meeting regs around divs & capital requirements, potentially they could dividend to holdco.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks.  That was what I feared.  Given the buy-back opportunity that might be presented by the market, it would have been preferable to have a large slug of cash going directly to the holdco.  I guess they could use all of C&F's already approved dividend capacity, but the AR suggested that it was only about $185m, which doesn't get you too far.

 

FFH is in an interesting position.  As we've discussed in this forum, increased interest rates gives the company the ability to drastically improve its operating income over the next 1-5 years, which is excellent news.  But, just like with the Q1 numbers, in the short-term we should expect all of that fundamental improvement to be offset by capital losses on bonds and from some of the equity positions.  Those capital losses don't much matter because the bonds involved are likely to be held to maturity, and FFH has always held the long view on its equity positions.  But, how will the market respond?  The headline EPS number probably will not be very good when it is released in August.  If you take the market's response to those superficially disappointing headline EPS numbers and layer on the annual angst about potential Q3 and Q4 cat losses, there may be a good opportunity to pick up some shares at a favourable price during the peak hurricane season in September...

 

I just hope that FFH is ready for that type of opportunity.

 

 

SJ

[steph]

It seems this is just a tiny peace of written premiums.  Should boost book value by close to 10%. 

[steph]

no...it's 10% of market cap...but closer to add 7% to book

[glider3834]

23 minutes ago, StubbleJumper said:

Thanks.  That was what I feared.  Given the buy-back opportunity that might be presented by the market, it would have been preferable to have a large slug of cash going directly to the holdco.  I guess they could use all of C&F's already approved dividend capacity, but the AR suggested that it was only about $185m, which doesn't get you too far.

Odyssey paid $900 mil div to Holdco in 2021 after the 10% sale transaction, but only had a $362 mil div capacity at end of 2020 - so I think that div capacity number potentially can change 

[Viking]

Well i was late to the party this morning. So Fairfax sells a non core insurance asset for $1.4 billion and the shares are up… 2%? Sweet! Gotta love efficient markets.

 

The timing of this sale looks very opportunistic. The business of pets went bonkers during covid. 
 

What does selling this asset do to Fairfax’s earnings power moving forward? Not sure, but it probably doesn’t change it a great deal. 
 

How valuable is it to Fairfax to pick up $900 million in cash when financial markets are in a bear market? VERY. (Yes, the money will need to be accessed from C&F). 
 

What will Fairfax likely do with all the cash (deal will close in 2H)?

1.) continue to grow insurance business in hard market

2.) no need to pay down debt - did that last year (and refinanced outstanding debt at very low interest rates)

3.) buy back stock

 

My guess is Fairfax will carry a higher cash balance given we are in a bear market (for financial assets) that may get much uglier and may take another 6-12 months to fully play out. We also should see the insurance subs maximize top line growth (+20% in Q1). Stock buybacks are also likely… perhaps $100-$150 million per quarter (beginning after the deal closes)? And we could also see new sizeable equity purchases at bear market prices. Lots of great options.
 

- https://www.fairfax.ca/news/press-releases/press-release-details/2022/JABs-Pet-Insurance-Business-to-Acquire-Global-Pet-Insurance-Operations-of-Fairfax-Financial-Expanding-Its-Presence-in-the-Fast-Growing-Industry/default.aspx

Edited June 20, 2022 by Viking

[Viking]

It will be interesting to learn more about the investment/partnership with JAB (the private investment company of Germany's Reimann family).  Looks like a pretty solid company (just looking at the brands they manage).

 

- https://www.jabholco.com

 

Fairfax will have $450 million invested with JAB. That is a large investment.

- $250 million in notes

- $200 million in JCP V, JAB’s latest consumer fund

—————
“As a result of the transaction, in which Fairfax will receive $1.4 billion in the form of $1.15 billion cash and $250 million in seller notes. As part of the transaction, Fairfax will also make a $200 million¹ investment in JCP V, JAB’s latest consumer fund.

—————

”About JAB JAB Holding Company invests in consumer-focused industries with attractive long-term dynamics, including strong growth prospects, attractive margin and cash flow characteristics, and proven resiliency.
 

Together with JAB Consumer Partners, JAB Holding Company is:

- the largest shareholder of Keurig Dr Pepper, a leader in the North American beverage market

- has controlling stakes in:

1.) JDE Peet’s, the largest pure-play fast-moving consumer goods coffee company in the world

2.) NVA, one of the world’s largest animal care services platforms

3.) Independence Pet Group, a leading provider of pet insurance

4.) Krispy Kreme Doughnut, a global leader in doughnuts and other premium-quality sweet treats

5.) Panera Brands, one of the world’s largest fast casual restaurant companies, which includes Panera Bread, Caribou Coffee and Einstein Bagels

6.) Pret A Manger, a leading company in the ready-to-eat food market

7.) Espresso House, the largest branded coffee shop chain in Scandinavia.

 

JAB Holding Company is also the largest shareholder in Coty Inc., a global leader in beauty, and owns luxury goods company Bally.”

 

- https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220620005108/en/JAB’s-Pet-Insurance-Business-to-Acquire-Global-Pet-Insurance-Operations-of-Fairfax-Financial-Expanding-Its-Presence-in-the-Fast-Growing-Industry

 

Edited June 20, 2022 by Viking

[Xerxes]

If needs be C&F can use the funds to invest in FFH itself. While those shares won’t be earmarked for cancellation, it is an effective investment on an asset they know well. 
 

bottom line, the crew is creative enough to find ways past the the dividend capacity constraints if those are indeed hard constraints. 
 

 

[Viking]

JAB tightens grip on US pet care market despite FTC warning

- https://www.ft.com/content/3e3c37ea-5643-44f1-8912-2dc09a2dceb9?ftcamp=traffic/partner/feed_headline/us_yahoo/auddev

JAB Holding has tightened its grip on the booming US pet care industry with a $1.4bn investment in Fairfax Financial Holdings’ pet insurance business, a move that will fuel regulators’ concerns about the European private equity firm’s growing influence in the American veterinary market.
 

JAB has acquired stakes in two companies from Fairfax… The investment comes a week after regulators at the US Federal Trade Commission intervened in JAB Consumer Partners’ acquisition of SAGE Veterinary Partners, forcing the JAB investment vehicle to divest its veterinary clinics in Texas and California to prevent it from forming local monopolies. JAB must also give notice to the agency for future clinic acquisitions.
 

JAB began acquiring US veterinary clinics in 2019 and has since moved into the $2.8bn North American pet insurance market, challenging rivals such as Mars and Nestlé. In-force premiums in the sector more than doubled between 2018 to 2021, according to the North American Pet Health Insurance Association (Naphia).
 

Stuck at home during lockdowns, Americans increased spending on pets, with ownership growing from 67 per cent to 70 per cent of US households between 2019 and 2021, according to the National Pet Owners Survey. Of 175mn North American pets. only 4.4mn are insured, according to Naphia, providing substantial room for growth.

Edited June 20, 2022 by Viking